Deering woman dies in crash with fire truck

DEERING — A 62-year-old Deering woman in an SUV was killed in a collision with a fire truck Sunday night, state police said.

New Hampshire State Police identified the woman as Kerry Ainsworth, who was driving a Honda CRV northbound on Route 149 when she crossed into the southbound lane around 5:30 p.m.

The driver of the southbound Deering Fire Department truck, William Bannister III from Deering, attempted to avoid the collision by veering into the northbound lane, but the CRV swerved back and hit the truck head-on, according to a news release.

Ainsworth was taken to Concord Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, state police said. The driver of the truck and another firefighter were evaluated for minor injuries.

Earlier in the afternoon, Deering firefighters had spent more than an hour working to contain a three-alarm brush fire on Wolf Hill Road.

The crash is still under investigation by the New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit. Anyone with information related to the crash is asked to contact Trooper First Class Michael Pelletier at 603-223-4381, email Michael.Pelletier@dos.nh.gov, or Trooper Thomas Conlon at 603-223-8614, email Thomas.Conlon@dos.nh.gov.

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